Loaders are well known to the art and are used in a variety of different segments within the fields of printing and publishing. For example, feeders are utilized to feed signatures one at a time from a hopper onto a conveyor; are used to supply signatures to a hopper; and are used to supply signatures to a signature feed assembly which, in turn, delivers partially opened signatures one at a time to a saddle conveyor, to name just a few applications. In all of the above-identified applications, it is necessary to provide signature streams and/or signature stacks which are in proper alignment to facilitate trouble-free transfer to the utilization device receiving signatures from the feeder.
In addition, when stacking signatures side-by-side preparatory to their transfer to an output utilization device, it is extremely important that the signatures be aligned so that they do not exert undue forces on the output utilization device thereby causing undesirable misfeeds.
In addition to the above, it is also important to provide feeders which not only have the versatility enabling the feeder to accommodate a variety of different signature sizes but also have the ability to permit rapid adjustment of the feeder when changing from one feeder size to another or when changing the coupling of the feeder output from one output utilization device to another.
The complicated nature and construction and the operating features of present day feeders increase the possibility of jams or other malfunctions during use and require complicated set-up operations, significantly increasing the cost of equipment as well as the cost of operating the equipment.